"No bargaining?" All the agents present were stunned when they heard those three words.
What's the biggest role of an agent? It's to secure the highest interests for their clients and get as much payment as possible. Usually, any collaboration is a process of negotiation. At this time, an agent's skills would be on full display.
But now, Fang Jueyu didn't even listen to their offer. The phrase "No bargaining" almost completely erased the role of agents, leaving them no room to negotiate, so what was the meaning of having agents at all?
"Mr. Fang, won't you at least listen to our offer first?" Lin Ruohan's agent, Ying Shanshan, asked. "Even if Mr. Fang's funds are abundant, the final profit should be considered, right?"
"Sorry, the final profit is really not in my consideration!" Fang Jueyu threw out another startling statement. "Just like Mr. Wang said, our only goal is to produce a good piece of work, and even if we lose money, we don't care."
"In that case, let me start with my offer," Ying Shanshan, facing Fang Jueyu and Wang Cong, remained confident. An agent's mental fortitude was a very important skill; otherwise, how could they secure the highest possible earnings before even starting negotiations?
"As for Ruohan's status in recent years, both of you should be well aware. Even Hollywood in the United States invited Ruohan several times, with the highest payment being 20 million US Dollars. Of course, it's impossible to have such a price for domestic films, so my offer is 100 million RMB!"
Actually, Ying Shanshan's internal pricing was 80 million, but with Fang Jueyu acting so magnanimous, she didn't mind quoting sky-high figures. In fact, she didn't believe Fang Jueyu would accept such a price.
"No problem!" To everyone's surprise, Fang Jueyu agreed to the terms almost without any thought. "Xiaoying, transfer the money directly!"
"What?" All the agents present were dumbfounded.
Moments later, Ying Shanshan's cellphone rang. It was a call from the company. Just now, the company received a transfer of a hundred million!
Ying Shanshan had been working as an agent for almost ten years, yet she had never done such a transaction before. Without any signed contract, the money was directly transferred. Was this Mr. Fang mentally unbalanced or just so rich that even a hundred million seemed nothing to him?
"Miss Lin, I assume our collaboration should have no problem?"
"Then I'll be in your care, Mr. Fang!" Lin Ruohan, although generally unconcerned about her payment, actually left this part to her agent to handle. Like Hu Yiyao, she was a thorough actor whose dream and work were all about acting.
"Well, Mr. Fang is so straightforward, and we can't afford to be ungracious!" Ying Shanshan's face was beaming with joy. Being able to collaborate with such a big boss was practically every agent's dream!
"Mr. Hu, how about setting your payment at the same level of one hundred million?" Fang Jueyu turned his attention to Hu Yiyao.
"I'll leave it up to Mr. Fang's decisions!" Hu Yiyao actually didn't care about his pay, but to Fang Jueyu, a hundred million seemed like no different than a dollar. Moreover, refusing the money might raise suspicions.
"Then, Director Zhu, how should we calculate your remuneration?" Fang Jueyu knew that directors usually earned based on box office shares, so he couldn't offer normal box office payments.
Jiang Chao, having worked as a director for 12 years and transitioning from an unknown small director to a best director award recipient, had been through a lot. But an occasion like today, he had never experienced, leaving him unsure of how to respond suddenly.
"How about this, Director Jiang? We'll calculate your box office share at 1.5 times the current industry standard. We'll estimate the movie's box office at 1 billion US Dollars, and your pay will be calculated at 180 million. How about that?"
"180 million!" This astronomical pay shocked everyone. Given Jiang Chao's reputation, 1.5 times the pay wasn't much, but that box office estimate was rather outrageous.
So far, not a single film in Huaxia had exceeded a 1 billion US Dollar box office. That's top-tier level that international blockbusters attain.
For a crew that hadn't even started filming or solved their location issues, daring to offer such a share, Fang Jueyu must have more money than he knows what to do with in their eyes.
"I have no objections!" With the production team giving such significant face, it'd be ungrateful for Jiang Chao to be unsatisfied. Moreover, with someone like Fang Jueyu, they dared not offend such a wealthy and influential figure.
"For the remaining few, your payments will range from 60 million to 80 million depending on your roles. Is that alright?"
"No problem! Mr. Fang is indeed too generous!" What more could the agents say? The payments offered by Fang Jueyu exceeded their internal valuations by more than 20%.
"Then, I'll directly pay the salaries!" Fang Jueyu signaled to Zhuang Ying.
Soon, each actor received messages from their respective agencies.
"As for the contracts, Principal Wang will have them sent to you in a couple of days!"
"Mr. Fang, may I ask, has the filming location been decided? Based on our understanding, it seems there are no available slots in Hengcheng recently. Have you chosen a different film city for filming?" Lin Ruohan asked.
"No!" Fang Jueyu smiled and shook his head. "We plan to build a whole new independent film city!"
"What!" Everyone couldn't help but stand up in astonishment at such shocking news.
"The first phase of the project has already started the bidding process. We plan to include the Jama Empire, Tagore Desert, and Yunlan Sect in this phase, with a planned investment of 100 billion!"
"The second phase will add Burning Flame Valley, Wind Thunder Pavilion, and the Pill Tower!"
"A hundred billion..." Upon hearing this number, everyone's mouths couldn't help but twitch slightly. To spend this much to build a film city for a single movie, what kind of nouveau riche thought process is this?
One could almost imagine how bustling the film city would become once completed. Countless tourists and film crews would settle in, perhaps even surpassing Hengcheng.
"Old Fang, even with a billion-dollar box office, it'll still fall short covering these salaries!" Wang Cong winked. Despite having invested several billion in this film, it wasn't enough to cover the payments.
"No problem, I won't want the box office earnings for this film, I'll give it all to you!" Fang Jueyu said.
"WTF, are you trying to kill me with money?" Wang Cong was stunned. Not caring about a loss-making film was one thing, but even forgoing box office earnings?
"Tch, do I care about that little money?"
"Boss, I'm on my knees here..."